Egyptian girl, Aisha Mustafa, invents new space propulsion system

[Libertarian Muslim]

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/325785

Egyptian girl, Aisha Mustafa, invents new space propulsion system

Posted May 31, 2012 by JohnThomas Didymus

A physics student from Egypt's Sohag University, Aisha Mustafa, 19, has patented a new type of propulsion system based on quantum theory that she says could propel space probes and artificial satellites without using any fuel.

NASA

An artist images one of tne of NASA's "twin" STEREO spacecraft orbiting the sun, observing a coronal mass ejection.

According Gizmodo, Aisha's new system exploits the quirky laws of quantum physics which state that in spite of appearances, space really is not vacuum but that it is a seething cauldron of fundamental particle interactions involving creation and destruction of "virtual particles." Mustafa believes it is possible to use vacuum energy fields to create propulsion and build spacecraft propulsion systems that need little or no fuel to travel in space. According to Fast Company, Mustafa is betting on exploiting quantum effects involved in dynamic Casimir effect and the Casimiri-Polder force. She uses two silicon metallic plates in a vacuum, "like capacitors placed a few micrometers apart." The plates interact with the virtual photons in the quantum field and generate a net force that is either an attraction or a repulsion depending on their arrangement. According to OnIslam.net, the invention is similar to a hypothetical concept of jet propulsion termed “Differential Sail," proposed by NASA’s Marc G. Millis. Fast Company reports that Aisha's university was so impressed with her new invention that it assisted her with a patent application. OnIslam.net reports that Mustafa's supervisor, Dr. Ahmed Fikry, who heads the physics department in Sohag University, said “I expect this invention to be highly beneficial in several fields and areas of industries." The President of Sohag University, Dr. Nabil Nour Eldin Abdellah, said the university facilitates "science clubs" for creative students. He said: “Once we knew about her (Mustafa’s) invention, we encouraged her and provided her with the budget needed through the Science Club for innovative students in the university. This is the case with any other creative student." According to OnIslam.net, with the retirement of NASA's space shuttle program, the field of space vehicles propulsion is expanding and and growing in importance with ongoing search for new methods of space travel that are faster, safer, cheaper and easier. A rich variety of new ideas in propulsive systems are being proposed some of which are beyond current technological capabilities to implement. Gizmodo reports that Mustafa intends to further study and develop the design so that it may be tested out. In a popular Egyptian morning program "Sabah El kheir Ya Masr"(Good Morning Egypt), Mustafa expressed her appreciation to her faculty and university staff for providing materials, resources and support. She, however, lamented that there is no funding for a department of space science in her university and in Egyptian universities in general. She said this prevents development and research in the field of space technology. She said: “Departments of astronomy and physics are only available. Although they are related to space sciences but unfortunately they aren’t into the specific field of my invention and they can’t practically test or implement it.”

Read more: http://digitaljournal.com/print/article/325785#ixzz1wUMCLYVe

[BaalChatzaf]

http://www.digitaljo.../article/325785

Egyptian girl, Aisha Mustafa, invents new space propulsion system

Posted May 31, 2012 by JohnThomas Didymus

A physics student from Egypt's Sohag University, Aisha Mustafa, 19, has patented a new type of propulsion system based on quantum theory that she says could propel space probes and artificial satellites without using any fuel.

NASA

An artist images one of tne of NASA's "twin" STEREO spacecraft orbiting the sun, observing a coronal mass ejection.

According Gizmodo, Aisha's new system exploits the quirky laws of quantum physics which state that in spite of appearances, space really is not vacuum but that it is a seething cauldron of fundamental particle interactions involving creation and destruction of "virtual particles." Mustafa believes it is possible to use vacuum energy fields to create propulsion and build spacecraft propulsion systems that need little or no fuel to travel in space. According to Fast Company, Mustafa is betting on exploiting quantum effects involved in dynamic Casimir effect and the Casimiri-Polder force. She uses two silicon metallic plates in a vacuum, "like capacitors placed a few micrometers apart." The plates interact with the virtual photons in the quantum field and generate a net force that is either an attraction or a repulsion depending on their arrangement. According to OnIslam.net, the invention is similar to a hypothetical concept of jet propulsion termed “Differential Sail," proposed by NASA’s Marc G. Millis. Fast Company reports that Aisha's university was so impressed with her new invention that it assisted her with a patent application. OnIslam.net reports that Mustafa's supervisor, Dr. Ahmed Fikry, who heads the physics department in Sohag University, said “I expect this invention to be highly beneficial in several fields and areas of industries." The President of Sohag University, Dr. Nabil Nour Eldin Abdellah, said the university facilitates "science clubs" for creative students. He said: “Once we knew about her (Mustafa’s) invention, we encouraged her and provided her with the budget needed through the Science Club for innovative students in the university. This is the case with any other creative student." According to OnIslam.net, with the retirement of NASA's space shuttle program, the field of space vehicles propulsion is expanding and and growing in importance with ongoing search for new methods of space travel that are faster, safer, cheaper and easier. A rich variety of new ideas in propulsive systems are being proposed some of which are beyond current technological capabilities to implement. Gizmodo reports that Mustafa intends to further study and develop the design so that it may be tested out. In a popular Egyptian morning program "Sabah El kheir Ya Masr"(Good Morning Egypt), Mustafa expressed her appreciation to her faculty and university staff for providing materials, resources and support. She, however, lamented that there is no funding for a department of space science in her university and in Egyptian universities in general. She said this prevents development and research in the field of space technology. She said: “Departments of astronomy and physics are only available. Although they are related to space sciences but unfortunately they aren’t into the specific field of my invention and they can’t practically test or implement it.”

Read more: http://digitaljourna...5#ixzz1wUMCLYVe

Any experimental support of this? The gold standard is experimental corroboration.

By the way, the burning of hypergolic mixtures is just as quantum mechanical.

Chemical reactions which are changes in bonds can be understood only in terms of quantum theory.

Prima facia the claim violates several well established laws of thermodynamics. The first thing one learns is there is no work done for free. The second thing one learns is that energy transfers that produce motion are in the direction of greater entropy. Second Law of Thermodynamics.

Beware of perpetual motion machines. They are ueber bogus.

Ba'al Chatzaf

[caroljane]

2nd Law? Isnt it Eat wont pass from cooler to otter...you can try it if you like but you far better notter?

- Profs Flanders & Swann

[Libertarian Muslim]

Any experimental support of this? The gold standard is experimental corroboration.

By the way, the burning of hypergolic mixtures is just as quantum mechanical.

Chemical reactions which are changes in bonds can be understood only in terms of quantum theory.

Prima facia the claim violates several well established laws of thermodynamics. The first thing one learns is there is no work done for free. The second thing one learns is that energy transfers that produce motion are in the direction of greater entropy. Second Law of Thermodynamics.

Beware of perpetual motion machines. They are ueber bogus.

Ba'al Chatzaf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy0UBpagsu8

[syrakusos]

Virtual particles exhibit some of the phenomena that real particles do, such as obedience to the conservation laws. If a single particle is detected, then the consequences of its existence are prolonged to such a degree that it cannot be virtual - Wikipedia on Virtual Particles.

Am I mistaken or are not "vacuum energy" and the "Casimir Effect" the doubletalk used in the movie of Atlas Shrugged to explain Galt's Motor?

Virtual work... hmmm... probably get a virtual paycheck for it...

[9thdoctor]

What was patented where? Are we talking an Egyptian patent, or a US one? This doesn’t sound like anything you wouldn’t find in many a science fiction novel.

[BaalChatzaf]

Virtual particles exhibit some of the phenomena that real particles do, such as obedience to the conservation laws. If a single particle is detected, then the consequences of its existence are prolonged to such a degree that it cannot be virtual - Wikipedia on Virtual Particles.

Am I mistaken or are not "vacuum energy" and the "Casimir Effect" the doubletalk used in the movie of Atlas Shrugged to explain Galt's Motor?

Virtual work... hmmm... probably get a virtual paycheck for it...

The Casimir Effect is as real as rain. It has been detect in laboratory experiments.

From the Wiki article:

"One of the first experimental tests was conducted by Marcus Sparnaay at Philips in Eindhoven, in 1958, in a delicate and difficult experiment with parallel plates, obtaining results not in contradiction with the Casimir theory,^[18][19] but with large experimental errors. Some of the experimental details as well as some background information on how Casimir, Polder and Sparnaay arrived at this point^[20] are highlighted in a 2007 interview with Marcus Sparnaay.

The Casimir effect was measured more accurately in 1997 by Steve K. Lamoreaux of Los Alamos National Laboratory,^[21] and by Umar Mohideen and Anushree Roy of the University of California at Riverside.^[22] In practice, rather than using two parallel plates, which would require phenomenally accurate alignment to ensure they were parallel, the experiments use one plate that is flat and another plate that is a part of a sphere with a large radius.

In 2001, a group (Giacomo Bressi, Gianni Carugno, Roberto Onofrio and Giuseppe Ruoso) at the University of Padua (Italy) finally succeeded in measuring the Casimir force between parallel plates using microresonators."

Ba'al Chatzaf

[Richard Wiig]

Doesn't she know that girls aren't supposed to go to university, let alone be educated??? Not being versed in physics I wouldn't have a clue what she's on about, but good on her if she is on to something.